The present invention generally relates to a plate-shaped footrest assembly for a chair, and more particularly to a footrest assembly including a footrest for support of the rear side of the legs of a user, and a footplate for placement of the feet of the user thereon, with the footplate being so linked to the footrest as to permit a pivoting about an axis oriented parallel to a plane of the footrest between a stowed position in which the footplate is not in use and extends in the plane of the footrest, and an unfolded position in which the footplate is in use and extends at an inclination to the footrest.
Plate-shaped footrests for chairs are known in a wide variety of designs. Normally, the footrest is mounted by a pantographic or telescoping scissors-type linkage mechanism to the frame of a chair for swinging from a stored position in which the footrest is located under the seat into an elevated position in which the support surface of the footrest extends approximately at seat level.
It is also known to provide footrests that are equipped with swingable footplates. In conventional footrests of this type, these footplates are relatively small and swingable about an axis that extends approximately in the middle of the footplate. Thus, when pivoting the footplate, only a slight area of the footplate projects upwardly beyond the support surface of the footrest while a same area is pivoted into a space underneath the support surface of the footrest. Such footplates have therefore only a relatively slight effectiveness.